Worn In Blue Jeans
by StrangeJaneDoe
Summary: When wedding planning gets more than a little out of control, Annabeth and Percy decide it's time to take matters into their own hands.


Hi there. This is my first story, Percy Jackson or otherwise, so be nice, please. Enjoy!

-Jane

**Worn-In Blue Jeans**

Chaos. That was the only word for it. Absolute, pure, unbridled chaos. It was the worst I'd ever seen- and being a demigod, that's saying something. What, you may be asking, had happened to cause such an unnatural state of disorder? A full scale monster invasion? A camp wide no holds barred game of capture the flag? A visit from the Party Ponies? No. None of the above. This was something far more frightening than all of that combined.

Wedding planning.

Under normal circumstances planning a wedding would never be this difficult but when you're a demigod marrying another demigod things can get...well, complicated.

Percy's parent's apartment had been turned into Wedding Headquarters. Percy had moved back in until after the wedding so boxes with his stuff and random pieces of furniture filled his old bedroom and corners of the apartment. Sally and Paul were also housing my dad who had flown out to "help" with the wedding preparations. On top of that, there was always an assortment of gods, goddess, demigods, hunters, satyrs, cyclopes and centaurs stopping by to help. Throw in a certain Oracle and a couple of mortal relatives and friends and you've got a recipe for chaos.

One morning about three weeks before the wedding, I found myself smack dab in the middle of the chaos. I was standing next to Percy in the dinning room trying to keep up with the half a dozen different conversations going on around the table. Sally was flipping through a flower catalog and making notes on a pad of paper. Rachel was looking over her shoulder and giving her opinion whenever Sally asked. Paul and Dad were in a world of their own, involved in a animated discussion about some obscure history book. Poseidon was next to them, listening and sipping his iced tea. Athena was working out seating arrangements and throwing glares across the table at Poseidon and occasionally muttering about turning Percy into a lobster. Grover was idly munching on catering brochures. Percy and I were...well, watching.

"Annabeth?" Percy said as we watched Athena shoot Poseidon another death glare.

"Yeah?" I replied.

"This is our wedding, isn't it?"

"As far as I know."

"Then should we be involved in all this?"

"In theory," I said.

Sally looked up at that moment and noticed us standing against the wall. "Busted," Percy whispered.

"Percy, help Grover look through those caterer brochures," Sally commanded. "And Annabeth, see if you can help your mother."

"What was that you were saying about being involved in all this?" I whispered to Percy. He gave me a terrified look and went to salvage the remaining brochures before they became goat food.

I pulled up a folding chair next to Athena and looked over shoulder. Sally had been brilliant in assigning her the task of figuring out the seating. Athena was, after all, the goddess of strategy and was doing a great job. It was clear that she didn't really need me but I sat there anyway, pretending to help.

Ten minutes later, Poseidon happen to glance over at the seating chart and Athena snapped at him. "Do you have a problem, Kelp Breath?"

"No, no," Poseidon said, leaning back in his chair.

She narrowed her eyes at him but dropped it, going back to her papers.

I glanced over at Percy who wasn't having too much luck looking for caterers, especially since Grover had eaten all but two of the pamphlets. He caught my eye and I gave him an exasperated look.

Percy cleared his throat and said, "Hey, Annabeth, could you, uh, come help me pick up a shirt for the rehearsal dinner?"

"Sure," I said, happy for any excuse to leave the dinning room.

I followed Percy out of the room, noting that no one seemed to acknowledge that we were leaving.

Percy led me into his old bedroom and shut the the door. Before I could say anything, Percy pulled me into his arms and kissed me. I melted, like I always did when he kissed me. I leaned into him and kissed back, letting my fingers find their way into his hair.

When we finally pulled apart Percy grinned and said, "I haven't gotten to do that all day."

"You didn't really need my help picking out a shirt, did you?" I asked.

He shook his head and gave me a sly smile. "Nope. That was just a cover."

"I'm impressed," I said. "That was almost clever, Seaweed Brain. Almost."

"I guess you're rubbing off on me after all these years, Wise Girl."

I smiled and kissed him again. For the next few minutes I forgot all about wedding plans.

I don't how long we would have spent making out but just as things were getting good, we were interrupted by a loud crash from the kitchen.

"That can't be good," I said.

"I guess we'd better go check it out," Percy said with a sigh. He ran a hand through his hand and I straightened my t-shirt as we walked down the hall. "Who do you think threw the first punch?"

As it turned out, no one was throwing punches, much to Percy's dismay. Tyson and Nico had both arrived and from what I could gather, Tyson had dropped a heavy box on Nico's foot. Now Nico was glaring at Tyson who looked like he was about to cry while Poseidon did his best to comfort him.

I peered into the box. It was full of silverware that Tyson had probably made himself out celestial bronze. Perfect for those time you had to slay a monster during dinner.

Percy surveyed the scene then turned to me. "Let's get out of here."

"Are you serious?"

"Yup. I need to a change of scenery. Come on, they won't even know we're gone."

I glanced at the dinning room then back at Percy. I shrugged. "All right."

A few minutes later we were standing outside the building. It was a nice spring day outside, warm with soft breeze. The sun felt good after the cramped dinning room. "Where are we going?" I asked.

Percy thought for a moment. "Let's get married."

I looked at him like he was insane. "Percy, we're getting married in a couple of weeks."

"I know."

"Are you suggesting we skip out on the wedding, after all the work everyone's putting into it?"

"No. We should definitely show up for that. The world might end if we don't. I just...I don't know. It doesn't really feel like our wedding anymore, you know? I think we should go get married, just the two of us. It is supposed to be about us, after all."

"You want to elope."

"Basically. We'll go down to City Hall. Just you and me." He reached over and laced his fingers though mine. "What do you say, Annabeth? Are we getting married today or what?"

Part of me thought I was crazy for letting him talk me into this. He did have a point, however. The wedding was pretty much out of our control at this point. Neither of us had made a decision in weeks. Everyone had good intentions, for sure, but it didn't feel like it was about us anymore.

"Okay, Seaweed Brain," I said. "Let's do it."

It felt good to being doing something so impulsive for once. I was always the one who thought things through and had a plan but at the same time, I had always sort of admired Percy's impulsiveness. It was kind of fun just to do something without thinking every once in a while.

Half an hour and a subway ride later, we at City Hall in line to get married.

As we waited, I studied the couple in front of us. They were a few years younger than us, just barely eighteen, if I had to guess. They couldn't keep their hands off each other and were completely oblivious to everything around them. They had certainty taken the time to dress for the occasion, however. She was in a designer dress and shoes, her reddish brown hair perfectly styled. He was in an expensive looking suit and shiny shoes.

I realized that Percy and I must have looked pretty shabby compared to them. We were both in jeans and sneakers. He had on a New York Knicks t-shirt and his mop of black hair was just as unruly as ever. My own hair had been thrown up in a ponytail as I ran out the door that morning and I was wearing my favorite old, faded Camp Half Blood shirt.

Percy must have been reading my mind because he eyed the younger couple and said, "Do you think we should have, you know, dressed up a little more?"

I shook my head. "Nope. We don't have to."

Percy raised his eyebrows. "We don't?"

"We've been together since we were sixteen," I said. "I think we're past the trying to impress each other phase. Our relationship is more like...a worn-in comfortable pair of jeans."

He glanced at the other couple again and then smiled at me. "I like that."

"Besides, we both hate dressing up and we're going to have more than enough of that at the white dress and tux affair in a couple of weeks."

Percy looked thoughtful. "You really think I'll look good in a white dress?"

I laughed. "Stunning, Seaweed Brain."

He laughed too and then said, "This feels right. I mean, I've always liked you best in jeans and a t-shirt."

That took me by surprise. "Really?"

"Yeah," he said. "That's what you were wearing when I fell in love with you, after all."

I smiled and slipped my hand into his. "You still surprise me even after all these years."

"Although, I suppose we could have worn battle armor, if you really want to represent our relationship."

"Somehow I don't think we would have made it through the metal detector," I said, trying to keep a straight face. Percy looked at me and I lost it. We both burst out laughing.

Ahead of us, the well dressed couple were finishing up. They kissed, a long, sloppy, overly passionate deal and when they finally came up for air, it was our turn. A few minutes later, Percy and I were sharing our own kiss. Ours was simple and sweet...and completely perfect.

When we pulled apart, Percy smiled at me as whispered, "I love you, Wise Girl."

"I love you too, Seaweed Brain."

And that was it. We were married. I didn't feel any different. Maybe because I always sort of knew we'd spend the rest of our lives together. Now it was just official.

On the subway ride home, Percy asked me, "So how does it feel to be Mrs. Jackson?"

I gave him a playful grin. "Who said I want your name?"

"I guess we could call you Mrs. Seaweed Brain," he shot back.

I rolled my eyes. "Too late. Thalia's been calling me that for years."

When we arrived back at the apartment, it turned out Percy was right. No one even knew we were gone. Sally was on the phone, Tyson was polishing the bronze silverware he'd brought, Grover and Nico were looking a pictures of cakes and Rachel was flipping through a catalog of flower arrangements. Dad and Paul were nowhere to be seen.

Sally hung up the phone and looked up at us. "I need you two to pick out a tablecloth pattern," she said. She thrust a catalog at Percy and then turned to Rachel and began discussing flowers.

Percy looked at the catalog then at me. I shrugged.

"I can see things haven't changed around here," he said. He took my hand and led me into the living room. He tossed the catalog on the coffee table and collapsed on the sofa. I sat down next to him and he put an arm around me. "I'm really glad we got married today," he said.

"Me too. Although you know if anyone finds out, they'll kill us."

"Let's hope they don't, then. I don't any more gods angry at me."

"Don't worry, Seaweed Brain, I'll protect you."

"What would I do without you?"

"Gotten yourself killed years ago," I said.

Percy laughed. He leaned and was about to kiss me when a voice said, "Nicely done, you two."

We both jumped and looked around. "Lady Aphrodite!" I said.

The goddess was leaning against the door frame, smiling at us. Percy and I exchanged nervous glances. "Don't worry," she said. "You're secret's safe with me. I just wanted to be the first to congratulate you."

"Thanks?" Percy said uncertainly.

Aphrodite gave us another smile and a wink before snapping her fingers and disappearing.

"Well, that's at least one god who doesn't want to kill me," Percy said, pulling me back into his arms.

I snuggled close to him and said, "Just for the record, I kind of like the way Annabeth Jackson sounds."

"Me too."

I closed my eyes and forced myself to block out the strange sounds coming from the kitchen. I was still excited for the big wedding in a few weeks. It was going to be nice to have all of our friends and family together, no matter how strange a group it was but I was glad Percy and I had gotten married our own way, on our own terms. Worn-in blue jeans and all.


End file.
